In my last couple of wedding planning posts, I talked about the dress and our honeymoon. Both of those things have been very simple processes so far that haven’t really stressed me out, so I figured it was time to discuss something on the opposite end of the spectrum today – pictures.
Although I love having memories of events and/or people, it is typically really hard for me to see myself in pictures, because I usually don’t like how I look in them. I’m trying to be better about this, but it’s an ongoing struggle. Especially a struggle when it comes to our wedding, because I obviously want beautiful photos to remember the day, but I don’t want to be stressed out about not liking how I will look in them.
To be honest, I’m really not sure where I found the company we chose to do our engagement and wedding shoots, Sarah Kossuch Photography, but I have had their website bookmarked for years. As soon as we got engaged, I knew who I wanted to call to take the photos and was crossing my fingers that they would be available – and they were!
We already had our engagement photos taken and have only seen a few sneak peeks so far, but have loved how they turned out. However, I have to admit that I was not feeling great about myself on the day we had them taken. It sounds silly, but I wish I would have lost a few pounds before the session. Again, silly, but that’s just how I feel. I also play this nasty comparison game with myself where I look at other people’s pictures and thin that mine should look just like theirs. So I have honestly really stopped looking at pictures like that lately.
Anyway, to summarize so far:
Our photographer is amazing
I am self-conscious
I should trust her entirely
I should take care of my body to feel good, and in turn I will be confident with it
But it’s easier said than done
So for the purpose of this conversation, I am directly correlating wedding photography with health and fitness. Maybe some people are amazing and more confident than I am (and if that’s you, I’m very jealous), but I just cannot and will not feel confident and carefree on my wedding day, when photos are being constantly taken of me, if I am not comfortable in my own skin. With that being said, my big, huge, really important goal over the next four-ish months is to dive headfirst into self-care. The big categories that are important to me are:
Skin-care (primarily face)
Less alcohol
Less sugar
A more structured movement schedule (yoga, stretching, barre, running, weight-lifting, walking, bike riding, swimming, etc.)
To elaborate a little more……
Skin-care
I have always had problematic skin, and lately it has been acting up again. I am assuming this is due to being a little more stressed than usual, the summer weather, and not eating as well as I used to. I already took a step in the right direction and stocked up on my favorite Kate Somerville products at Sephora yesterday – I had gotten a little loose about using face washes, serums, lotions, etc. that I know work on my skin and am getting back on a strict routine starting today. I also got her new daily makeup setting sunscreen that I am also determined to remember to use daily.
It also sounds a little odd, but I want to start wearing makeup more. I am notorious for rolling out of bed and getting ready for work in five minutes flat, and I feel like if I put myself together a little more in the mornings, I will feel more confident throughout the day. Worth a shot!
Less alcohol
With summertime comes sitting out on patios after work, drinking rosé while cooking dinner, and lots of brunches with bottomless mimosas. In order to reduce bloat, keep my energy up, and remain motivated, I really want to try to limit my drinking in the next couple of months. Nothing wrong with enjoying a couple of drinks with my friends or just at home after a long day, but I want to be more intentional about it and only have it when I really want it – not always “just because.”
Less sugar
In the moment I think that candy will give me energy and make me feel good, but it ends up making me feel terrible in the end. Honestly worse than alcohol can! I have been on a sour skittle kick lately (but only the red and yellow ones) that Chris has been fueling all too often, and it has to stop. It’s gotten out of control! I do not agree one bit with the people who say that “fruit is dessert,” but another summer goal is to eat more fruit at night and less processed sugar. Baby steps.
Movement schedule
I’ve talked about this before – I get great workouts in throughout the week, but not on any particular schedule. My motivation level remains much higher if I have set workouts/classes on my calendar at the beginning of the week that I can look forward to. I want to be more active these next few months in ways other than working out, too – riding bikes to dinner instead of driving, actually swimming a few laps when I’m in the pool and not just laying on a raft with a margarita, and just going on short walks at night after dinner. Little things like that can go such a long way.
_________
The overall goal is to just simply take great care of myself to achieve contentment with my body to ensure that I feel 100% confident on our wedding day. I want to remember that day so fondly and know that this little initiative will give me more of the peace that I need to handle the next couple months with ease, grace, patience, and love.
Any thoughts? How do you feel about getting your picture taken? Was it hard to have all eyes on you on your wedding day (or any other big event)?
Comentários